2025 McLaren F1 Team

[De Wet]

Wait until people learn about Ron and Mika…

Remind us please...

[Farnborough]

I understand there's PR reasons why Zak can't come out and say he has a favorite, but honestly, it's pretty normal for him to have a favorite. And I think it's pretty obvious the favorite for Zak at least is Lando. That doesn't really mean he is pulling the strings on the background to sabotage Oscar though. Those are just wild conspiracy theories.

It's just to be expected that Zak leans towards Lando. He was signed into the McLaren junior programme in 2017 (when Zak took over McLaren). They invested in him and believed in his talent. Could Adam have bought that place? Could be, but it's not like Zak is lacking money, so I doubt the decision was entirely money-driven. Also Lando is not your average pay driver. He had the results to back him up.
Lando also repaid McLaren by sticking with them since he joined them and actually delivering as well. Even when it seemed like McLaren was going downhill while having chances to join RedBull, he stood with them.

Indeed. Very true. I am amused about this topic with the poor kid from Australia, and how Zak has a favorite in Lando and is sabotaging Oscar. Or like couple days ago seeing a picture with Stella laughing after Vegas and all the Lando fans saying he is happy for that -18 points for Lando and the fact that Oscar is closer to him in the championship.
From my perspective is a non-sense all this discussion and is another proof that we live in a sick world. So sad man.

The history of originator, that's put this on thread, has 9 posts in McL team over 13 years ! It should make anyone wonder their motive bringing this, at this point in championship ..... on a technical forum

It's just social anarchy, isn't it ?

[the EDGE]

I doubt there’s a single human on this planet that can separate their true emotion from the decisions they make.

But in all honesty, I think McLaren have treated both drivers completely equally.

I have no doubt that had the Monza situation been in reverse, the decision still would have been the same

They screwed over Lando to give Piastri the first stop, so that Piastri did not lose places, and therefore points, in his fight for the championship

Lando lost out because of this, so they put the situation right

I’m sure if they had not given Piastri priority over pitting, they would not have swapped them over

It is clearly only the people that want to dig at McLaren, for whatever reason they can Who would see this any other way

[Aesop]

All McLaren need to do is run a legal car and they will likely leave Qatar with lots of points and even the title. It will be close if Red Bull get their setup right but that's not guaranteed.

The problem is that the Las Vegas double DSQ might cause McLaren to raise their car out of passiveness. Happened with Mercedes after their DSQ in 2023 (iirc) and Ferrari after the DSQ in China.

They need to run a legal car and I'm sure that car can get P2 or P3. Norris can easily win it still.

Agreed, he is the clear favorite but he needs to be at his best. Not driving on the limit will make it easier to make mistakes. You can't relax in the car.

[AR3-GP]

I doubt there’s a single human on this planet that can separate their true emotion from the decisions they make.

But in all honesty, I think McLaren have treated both drivers completely equally.

I have no doubt that had the Monza situation been in reverse, the decision still would have been the same

They screwed over Lando to give Piastri the first stop, so that Piastri did not lose places, and therefore points, in his fight for the championship

Lando lost out because of this, so they put the situation right

I’m sure if they had not given Piastri priority over pitting, they would not have swapped them over

The problem with trying to play god is they’ve indirectly screwed over Piastri. Piastri was harmed by a team error in Las Vegas. Now he’s level on points with Verstappen. Mclaren can’t “swap the cars” and undo it. That’s why they shouldn’t have interfered in Monza. Every driver is going to have good luck and bad luck across the season. That is a natural part of racing! The fact that Mclaren decided to meddle in an organic outcome has unfairly titled the scale in Lando’s favor. It’s showing their bias.

Those who can’t see it are fixated on the single race in a vacuum (or just like Lando) and failing to see the big picture. Swapping cars in a title fight is not racing! It’s manufacturing.

[proteus]

I doubt there’s a single human on this planet that can separate their true emotion from the decisions they make.

But in all honesty, I think McLaren have treated both drivers completely equally.

I have no doubt that had the Monza situation been in reverse, the decision still would have been the same

They screwed over Lando to give Piastri the first stop, so that Piastri did not lose places, and therefore points, in his fight for the championship

Lando lost out because of this, so they put the situation right

I’m sure if they had not given Piastri priority over pitting, they would not have swapped them over

The problem with trying to play god is they’ve indirectly screwed over Piastri. Piastri was harmed by a team error in Las Vegas. Now he’s level on points with Verstappen. Mclaren can’t “swap the cars” and undo it. That’s why they shouldn’t have interfered in Monza. Every driver is going to have good luck and bad luck across the season. That is a natural part of racing! The fact that Mclaren decided to meddle in an organic outcome has unfairly titled the scale in Lando’s favor. It’s showing their bias.

Those who can’t see it are fixated on the single race in a vacuum (or just like Lando) and failing to see the big picture. Swapping cars in a title fight is not racing! It’s manufacturing.

What happened last year at Hungary? It was by far much more critical decision and an order. Even though reluctant, Lando did move aside. If we look even further back, Lando had the pace to challenge for his maiden win at Monza, but didnt because of a team order. Whatever some people like it or not, Mclaren has operated completely differently since their disastrous times. And i personally do not see nothing wrong with it. By far better than a full blown war under the same roof.

I personally will believe something needs to be changed when Oscar expresses concerns, and i have no doubts Webber would spill the beans right away if foul play would occur. Especially since he knows how this looks from his own experience.

[AR3-GP]

What happened last year at Hungary? It was by far much more critical decision and an order. Even though reluctant, Lando did move aside.

Hungary wasn't the same thing. It had nothing to do with good luck or bad luck to either driver. Mclaren undercut Piastri on purpose, because it was a means to protect Norris from the car behind him. Norris just had bad luck in Monza. It happens to everyone. It's not Mclaren's place to correct it "some of the time". They still haven't understood and admitted to the impropriety that they executed that day.

If we look even further back, Lando had the pace to challenge for his maiden win at Monza, but didnt because of a team order.

A very different set of circumstances. Team orders have their place and using them to correct luck is not one of them, especially when two drivers are contending for a championship.

[Ben1980]

What happened last year at Hungary? It was by far much more critical decision and an order. Even though reluctant, Lando did move aside.

Hungary wasn't the same thing. It had nothing to do with good luck or bad luck to either driver. Mclaren undercut Piastri on purpose, because it was a means to protect Norris from the car behind him. Norris just had bad luck in Monza. It happens to everyone. It's not Mclaren's place to correct it "some of the time". They still haven't understood and admitted to the impropriety that they executed that day.

If we look even further back, Lando had the pace to challenge for his maiden win at Monza, but didnt because of a team order.

A very different set of circumstances. Team orders have their place and using them to correct luck is not one of them, especially when two drivers are contending for a championship.

Why would they admit anything if they don't believe they acted inappropriately.

I still have no issues with Monza. Nor can I see any issues through the season, apart from maybe Oscar being asked to give a tow in qualifying. Even then I sort of see it.

And team orders can be whatever the team wants them to be.

[AR3-GP]

Why would they admit anything if they don't believe they acted inappropriately.

Their pride won't allow them to admit it. It would also be a PR disaster. They'd rather we just forget about it. It will certainly not make it into the highlight reels at the end of the year...

I still have no issues with Monza. Nor can I see any issues through the season, apart from maybe Oscar being asked to give a tow in qualifying. Even then I sort of see it.

No issue with Lando getting a custom suspension when he was struggling and Oscar being left to the wolves in the 2nd half? (granted this is getting into a wider conversation about favoritism and less about team orders but it fits with Mclaren not wanting Lando to face bad luck at the expense of Oscar in Monza)

And team orders can be whatever the team wants them to be.

That's right but Mclaren can't do it and then claim all is fair afterwards. Own the unfairness if that's what you want to do.

[Ben1980]

Why would they admit anything if they don't believe they acted inappropriately.

Their pride won't allow them to admit it. It would also be a PR disaster. They'd rather we just forget about it. It will certainly not make it into the highlight reels at the end of the year...

I still have no issues with Monza. Nor can I see any issues through the season, apart from maybe Oscar being asked to give a tow in qualifying. Even then I sort of see it.

No issue with Lando getting a custom suspension when he was struggling and Oscar being left to the wolves in the 2nd half? (granted this is getting into a wider conversation about favoritism and less about team orders but it fits with Mclaren not wanting Lando to face bad luck at the expense of Oscar in Monza)

And team orders can be whatever the team wants them to be.

That's right but Mclaren can't do it and then claim all is fair afterwards. Own the unfairness if that's what you want to do.

I get you think some sort of dodginess has gone on.

I don't see it, but I'm not getting into a battle, when you seem so sure.

[Badger]

What happened last year at Hungary? It was by far much more critical decision and an order. Even though reluctant, Lando did move aside.

Hungary wasn't the same thing. It had nothing to do with good luck or bad luck to either driver. Mclaren undercut Piastri on purpose, because it was a means to protect Norris from the car behind him. Norris just had bad luck in Monza. It happens to everyone. It's not Mclaren's place to correct it "some of the time". They still haven't understood and admitted to the impropriety that they executed that day.

Monza was the same as Hungary, it was only because Oscar got the undercut to protect from Leclerc that the slow pit stop actually resulted in an overtake. If Lando had pitted when he should have and had the slow pit stop, he still would have kept the lead because of the undercut delta. So it wasn't just bad luck, McLaren asking Lando for that favour cost him the position.

[venkyhere]

I can't believe we are still talking about Mclaren's treatment of it's drivers. Whatever they did/do/going-to-do is their business. Why do we care ? We care only about the racing - strategy, tyres, driving skill etc. it's anyway the season's end, can't we stop this futile discussion ? By doing this, we sound like those clickbait F1 podcasts where 90% of their 'content' is politics within the team.

[AR3-GP]

I get you think some sort of dodginess has gone on.

I don't see it, but I'm not getting into a battle, when you seem so sure.

I wouldn't call this "dodginess". I actually think Mclaren's mistakes are born from a good place (looking after the driver who has carried them for the last 5 years). Lando Norris is certainly "THE" driver of Mclaren's comeback era. He's been the most performing. I'd have no problem if they started the season fully backing Lando Norris. The problem is the disconnect between what they are saying and what they are doing. Zak's really proud of his team of "family values" but the irony is that the team is exactly like a family where one child gets more attention than the other . Oscar Piastri's loss of pace is staggering and Mclaren really should have brought an update to help him the way they did for Lando earlier in the year.

When a driver in a Mclaren doesn't get a podium since Zandvoort, there's an issue that goes beyond the driver but Mclaren would rather that Oscar take the fall for it when they blamed the car for Lando's struggles earlier in the year.

[Ben1980]

What happened last year at Hungary? It was by far much more critical decision and an order. Even though reluctant, Lando did move aside.

Hungary wasn't the same thing. It had nothing to do with good luck or bad luck to either driver. Mclaren undercut Piastri on purpose, because it was a means to protect Norris from the car behind him. Norris just had bad luck in Monza. It happens to everyone. It's not Mclaren's place to correct it "some of the time". They still haven't understood and admitted to the impropriety that they executed that day.

Monza was the same as Hungary, it was only because Oscar got the undercut to protect from Leclerc that the slow pit stop actually resulted in an overtake. If Lando had pitted when he should have and had the slow pit stop, he still would have kept the lead because of the undercut delta. So it wasn't just bad luck, McLaren asking Lando for that favour cost him the position.

They also made the point about if drivers can't put the team over themselves how can they be trusted going forward. Something like that anyway.

[Ben1980]

I get you think some sort of dodginess has gone on.

I don't see it, but I'm not getting into a battle, when you seem so sure.

I wouldn't call this "dodginess". I actually think Mclaren's mistakes are born from a good place (looking after the driver who has carried them for the last 5 years). Lando Norris is certainly "THE" driver of Mclaren's comeback era. He's been the most performing. I'd have no problem if they started the season fully backing Lando Norris. The problem is the disconnect between what they are saying and what they are doing. Zak's really proud of his team of "family values" but the irony is that the team is exactly like a family where one child gets more attention than the other . Oscar Piastri's loss of pace is staggering and Mclaren really should have brought an update to help him the way they did for Lando earlier in the year. When a driver in a Mclaren doesn't get a podium since Zandvoort, there's an issue that goes beyond the driver.

Why is it staggering? He was pretty sitar at this time last season.

As shown recently, the car isn't the stand out and its tight with others. Development ended by Silverstone or Spa. Others caught up.

I'd say staggering is a overreaction, but there were many overreaction at the start of the season.